The Birth of the West, Paul Collins
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The Birth of the West
Rome, Germany, France, and the Creation of Europe in the Tenth Century

Author: Paul Collins

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Unabridged: 21 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/25/2022


Synopsis

The tenth century dawned in violence and disorder. Charlemagne’s empire was in ruins, most of Spain had been claimed by Moorish invaders, and even the papacy in Rome was embroiled in petty, provincial conflicts. To many historians, it was a prime example of the ignorance and uncertainty of the Dark Ages. Yet according to historian Paul Collins, the story of the tenth century is the story of our culture’s birth, of the emergence of our civilization into the light of day.The Birth of the West tells the story of a transformation from chaos to order, exploring the alien landscape of Europe in transition. It is a fascinating narrative that thoroughly renovates older conceptions of feudalism and what medieval life was actually like. The result is a wholly new vision of how civilization sprang from the unlikeliest of origins, and proof that our tenth-century ancestors are not as remote as we might think.

Author Bio

Paul Collins is the author of eight books, including The Book of William: How Shakespeare’s First Folio Conquered the World and Duel with the Devil: The True Story of How Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr Teamed Up to Take on America’s First Sensational Murder Mystery, a finalist for the Edgar Award. He appears on NPR’s Weekend Edition as its “literary detective” on odd and forgotten books, and is the founder of the Collins Library imprint of McSweeney’s Books. Collins lives in Portland, Oregon, where he is an associate professor of English at Portland State University.

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